You don't know me. I'm okay with that. This is my search for insignificance.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

The Greatest Words Ever Spoken

The Greatest Words Ever Spoken, introduced and compiled by Steven K. Scott. It sounds funny to me to say that, because I kind of thought God had already compiled these words. I'm tempted to say I liked this book a lot better the first time it was written...you know, when it was called the Bible. But I won't use that joke.

I did wonder about this book, which was part of why I picked it up. The description said it contained the words of Jesus, so how would this be different from the Bible. I had to know. Plus, how is such a thin book over 500 pages? Upon opening it up and flipping through, I discovered the familiar Jesus paper, used in every Bible I have ever seen. You know the kind, so thin you're not sure if you're treating it well because it's the Bible or because the pages might tear if you breathe too hard.

Nevertheless, Steven describes this very personal work as gathering everything Jesus said about every topic and putting it all in one place. By removing all of the extra narrative, you are left with only the words of Christ. Do you want to know what Jesus said about forgiveness? Here's everything He said on the topic.

Steven has organized this book into nine chapters, displaying what Jesus said about Himself, God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, humanity, our relationship with God and our relationships with everyone else. It's all very neatly organized and has a succinct introduction for each chapter. In case we didn't already believe it, Steven gives us more reason to cherish the words of Christ.

Reading through this, I see only one minor weakness. I am a context guy. I like seeing the little details in a story. For instance, when John records that Jesus bent down and drew in the sand. I like that. It's an important detail. With the narrative taken away, you might not know, or remember, who Jesus was talking to, what they asked, or what caused this to be the topic at hand. It simply means that when you are using this as a study tool, you won't be able to use just this book.

But that doesn't mean you shouldn't use this. I plan on using it a lot. What better place to start on a topic than the words of Jesus? I would recommend you do the same. It should be noted I received this book for free from my good friends at Blogging for Books. They give me books and I write reviews. Win-win.